Milk-Bone, a brand of The J.M. Smucker Company, will receive presenting rights of the Milk-Bone Athlete Lounge at the Championships. Located backstage during competition, the lounge is a key broadcast position during NBC Universal’s (NBCU) coverage of the event, serving as the backdrop for post-competition interviews and live look-ins as skaters and coaches relax before and/or after a performance while watching their competitors.
“We are thrilled to welcome Milk-Bone to the U.S. Figure Skating family,” said Ramsey Baker, U.S. Figure Skating Chief Marketing Officer. “Milk-Bone’s involvement with the championships is a fun and exciting extension of our long-standing relationship with The J.M. Smucker Company.”
In addition to the exposure the lounge will receive across NBCU’s coverage of the championships, fans will have the opportunity to share inspirational stories about their dogs across social media using #DogsInspireMore. Images submitted through social media will appear in the lounge throughout the competition.
Dogs from the Heading Home Animal Rescue, an Aptos, California-based non-profit organization dedicated to finding good homes for local shelter animals in need, will be in the lounge on Friday thru Sunday of the event. This Rescue finds homes for over 650 cats and dogs a year and is committed to helping animals in need at local open-admission animal shelters.
NBCU’s coverage of the event began on Wednesday and continues Friday. NBC begins its live coverage on Friday, Jan. 5, at 8 p.m. ET with the ladies free skate. On Saturday, Jan. 6, the pairs free skate will air on NBC at 4 p.m., with the men’s free skate following at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Competition will conclude with NBC’s coverage of the free dance on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 3 p.m. NBC will also present the Smucker’s Skating Spectacular on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 4 p.m. ET.
